Saturday 19 January 2013

Vanilla Queens Dream Reads #3 & Giveaway


With just a few days until the release of Boundless; one of our most anticipated reads. We have our copies pre-ordered and just are nervously waiting for our postman to arrive with our beautiful copies. We thought we’d do a joint post on our thoughts on the series so far. If you haven’t read the series already, our post may contain a few spoilers.

The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California - and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfil her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must decide her fate once and for all.

Favourite book in the series so far.
Rachel: I’m so torn, because I loved the development of Tucker and Clara’s romance in Unearthly, but I think Hallowed is my favorite so far. The story is fleshed out so much more in Hallowed and we get so many answers. Plus, there’s conflict with the romance and MAJOR sadness. I know, how can I love sadness in a book? Well, it’s just that my emotions were pulled all over the place and it really made me feel!!

Jasprit: Unearthly. This book seriously knocked my socks off. I remember at the time I was super crazy with work, I had about a million other things going on, but every second I got I spent with this book. I remember all my Goodreads friends were on this huge high, as the release of Hallowed was just around the corner and once again I was totally out of the loop (the story of my life). But I managed to devour my copy in two days and was left wanting so much more.

What do you like most about the Unearthly series?
Rachel: I love the characters and relationships, they’re so well done. Each character is facing their own personal dilemma, whether they’re human or part-angel, and the depth this brings out in them is fascinating. The romance is pulling me in every direction, because this is one hell of a love-triangle! I’m not a fan of love-triangles, but for some reason it works in this series. I’m going to be torn up with either choice that’s made, because I’m attached to both Christian and Tucker. The angel world and lore is also quite good and the plot is compelling. I just find that this story stands out in every way when compared to other angel stories.  

Jasprit: I like the fact that it’s so different from the paranormal angel books out there. I remember at the time I was going through my long term paranormal funk, where I was suffering from a complete paranormal burnout, so I was super wary about giving Unearthly a try. But Cynthia Hand just took the angel aspect to a whole another level, she surprised me profusely that I wanted more of Cynthia’s work straight away. Also for the first time ever, there was a love triangle that didn’t have me cringing.

Who do you want Clara to end up with?
Rachel: In Unearthly, hands down I was Team Tucker all the way! Christian commits the one of the biggest of guy/boyfriend blunders in Unearthly: He leaves Clara, his date, at the prom to take his ex-girlfriend home!!! MORON!! So, at that point I crossed him off my list, and Tucker took up residence in my heart completely. Cynthia Hand had to go and blow all this out of the water in Hallowed. I got to know Christian better and it was evident that he and Clara together would make a perfect match.  With all that said, Tucker is still my first choice, but only by a hair! My heart is going to break for whoever is not picked. Oh, the heartache that’s sure to come!    

Jasprit: This is so tough! In Unearthly I was all team Tucker, with his dimple/dimples and teasing demeanour what’s not to love? But then in Hallowed Christian just seriously upped his game, all this charm, wit and loveable side emerged that I didn’t even know existed. He completely rocked the boat that I felt so torn between Tucker and Christian. But if I’m forced to choose then I’m going for Tucker.

Favourite cover:
Rachel: Well, it’s going to be an Aussie cover, obviously! They’re gorgeous. The Aussie Boundless cover is my favorite. Just as a side note, wasn’t Clara’s hair blond in Hallowed? The Aussie cover shows it red. Maybe I’m wrong. 

Jasprit: The Aussie series is just gorgeous, Aussie covers always seem to shine above the rest, and I definitely think they’ve outdone themselves. The US covers are a close second; I love how they’re themed so similarly. And lastly the UK covers, in comparison to the others I have no clue what’s going on here. My all time favourite cover has to be the Aussie Boundless cover; I could stare at it all day.

Aussie covers


UK covers


US covers



What are you most looking forward to in Boundless?
Rachel: Answers! I have to know how this whole purpose thing will work out. Is Angela evil? What about Clara’s brother? And, most importantly: Who does Clara end up with?!! I’m on pins and needles, here!

Jasprit: Like Rachel said I need ANSWERS! Hallowed didn’t end in a major cliffhanger or anything, but there’s still so much that I need to know. But my main priority is finding out who Clara is going to end up with, Tucker or Christian. The suspense is just killing me!

Who else is excited for Boundless? We've decided to give away one copy to one of our lucky followers, the giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to you. Full list of countries can be found here. And the giveaway will be open for a week. Good luck everyone! Until then you can enjoy watching the Boundless trailer below.






a Rafflecopter giveaway

67 comments:

Shirley said...

I'm obviously in the minority here; for some weird reason, I just couldn't connect with any of the characters in Unearthly and I gave up on Hallowed around page 50 :S But I guess I'm still interested in who Clara will end up with :) heheee

Tanja - Tanychy said...

Oh girls I know how you feel!! I can't wait to read it! :D It's hard for me to say which one is my fave - maybe Unearthly because it gave me hope in books about angels! Also the Aussie covers are so pretty! Rachel I'll have to stop myself from reading the last page so I can see the answer xD Kidding, I'd never do that :) Thanks for the giveaway girls!! :D

Tanja - Tanychy said...

Err I've seen the question now - Team Tucker all the way :)

Anonymous said...

I TOO AM DYING FOR THIS BOOK. JUST A FEW MORE DAYS. AAAAAAAAAAAH.

I love the Unearthly series because it's so fresh and inventive even when it's covering angel lore. I love the characters because they are all so dynamic and wonderful. Hand's writing is so beautiful in a way that it resonates so well with teenage reads like myself. But most of all, I love it because of Christian. Yeah, I know, minority but \m/ I agree that Christian was so asdfghjkl; in Unearthly but for some reason, a part of me believed there was something more with him so Hallowed was definitely a pleasant surprise. My favorite book has got to be Hallowed because I felt like it was the turning point. Where shizz got real. And more Christian yes.

Okay, I sound dazed... oh well!

Fab post, you guys <3 Can't wait for Boundless!(Even though Clara is most likely going to end up with Tucker </3)

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

HAh, who DOES Clara end up with? I'll have to ask you girls to DM me the answer. I never made it past book one, and I don't even know why since I (moderately) enjoyed it.
Nevertheless, I'm excited for you two. I know what it's like to wait so long for a book and then finally get it. :)

Veronika said...

I'm dying to read Boundless! This is one of my favorite series ever and can't wait to see what will happen! I was Team Tucker in the first book, his relationship with Clara was so beautiful, than in the second book he fell to the background a bit and we got to know Christian. I like him too, but I'M still Team Tucker :)

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

Team Tucker. But based on Unearthly only. I haven't read Hallowed yet, even though I've had it sitting on my shelf almost since it came out. Thanks for the giveaway ladies :)

Kristia said...

Team Tucker. Only read the 1st book though, maybe later I'll change my mind ;) Thank you for the giveaway!

Bookish said...

Team Tucker definitely! So looking forward to Boundless but can't believe it's nearly over!

Sarah Elizabeth said...

Love those Aussie covers! They are so pretty! I have the uk covers. Haven't read them yet though - must get round to them soon - they sound so good!

Zed said...

Love all the covers. At the moment I'm team neither but hope to make a decision once i read the booK!

ramydul said...

I am in love with this series!I'm Team Tucker!

Bea Tejano said...

The covers are absolutely gorgeous! Havent read these yet though, thanks for the giveaway!

Jessica@Booked Up! said...

Wow wow wow, those Assie covers are stunning! Beautiful! Gorgeous! I totally agree with you guys, they really outshine the rest.

I haven't read this series yet, but I've heard so many good things about them. I'm just dying to get my hands on these books!

Thanks for sharing this lovely post, Jasprit and Rachel. I love it when you do a joint post! Oh, and thank you very much for such a generous giveaway! :D xx

Unknown said...

Team Tucker of course :)

TayteH said...

Team Tucker!! Christian is just an unwanted problem.

Unknown said...

Team Tucker all the way!

Sally@Always Lost in Stories said...

Thanks for this amazing giveaway- I'm dying to read Boundless!
I love Tucker- so Team Tucker all the way!

Anonymous said...

This book is everywhere these days! Everyone has been raving about this series, but I still haven't picked it up! Now that the last book is coming out, I'll wait to find out who Clara ends up with to decide if I want to read it or not! ;)
I love the Aussie covers too. They are absolutely gorgeous!
You guys have to let me know who she ends up with!
Thanks for the giveaway, you guys!

Unknown said...

The Aussie covers are definitely beautiful :-)

Gigi said...

Team Tucker all the way! I'm so excited to read Boundless!
Thanks for the chance! (Ileana A.-rafflecopter)

Jessica @ The Psychotic Nerd said...

I LOVE this series!!! XD
I'm currently re-reading it in order to get ready for Boundless!
By the way... CLARA BETTER CHOOSE TUCKER!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Thanks for the giveaway!!

Jennifer said...

I love this series to much. Cannot wait for Boundless.

I am still not 100% sure which team i'm on. I like both guys.

Did anybody here read Radiant? I would highly recommend reading this enovella before Boundless.

Fiza said...

I LOVE the Aussie covers!!!
Team Tucker!

Unknown said...

Team Tucker!!! <3

Sam said...

I'm caught between the two!!

Keertana said...

Yet another fantastic Vanilla Queens Dream Reads post, ladies! :) I didn't enjoy Unearthly, so I don't intend to read Hallowed or Boundless, but I'm so glad both of you loved this series so much. It makes me wish I did too, just to experience the giddy excitement of release day!(: I hope Boundless is satisfactory for you both! :D

Sarah@Catching Books said...

Such a hard question..I like both of them!! Thanks for the giveaway :)

Lisa Richards/alterlisa said...

Team Tucker all the way!

Anonymous said...

I'm SO excited for the release of Boundless, and I simply adore Hand's gorgeous writing, complex, layered characters and relationships. I'm totally Team Tucker though (Christian is bleh) and I also liked the contemplative, darker tone of Hallowed. Thanks for the giveaway, ladies, and absolutely brilliant post as always!

Dorky Girl said...

Team Tucker \o/

sarah said...

I am torn between the two, in other love triangle it's usually more clear which is the best guy for the girl.

Unknown said...

Gah, that's a hard question. lol I was Team Tucker in Unearthly but that somehow managed to change with Hallowed and I'm still not sure. I was tricked! But holy moly I can't wait to get my hands on Boundless.

laceyblossom said...

Absolutely Team Tucker!!
Lacey T

Born Bookish said...

Team Tucker no question about it!!

Unknown said...

I haven't read any book in this series. I must!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the giveaway! I think I'm in the minority, but Team Christian :)

Unknown said...

Team Tucker

Unknown said...

Team Tucker, always!

Unknown said...

I'm not sure of my team yet since I haven't started reading this series yet! On my list:) Thanks!

LisaILJ said...

I know I'm in the minority, but I have always been Team Christian.

Unknown said...

Okay, so I just got into this series and was instantly in love!!
:] I can not wait to read Boundless!
Thanks for the giveaway!
oh, and I'm TEAM TUCKER!!

bashashhazbaz said...

i have not read the books yet so i can't commit to either team.

Texas Book Lover said...

I haven't read these yet so I don't know yet...soon, very soon!

Angie said...

Team Tucker of course! Does one even have a choice?

Mary Preston said...

Team Tucker

Rima said...

I've been Team Tucker since Unearthly! Although I have a feeling she might end up with Christian, what with their similar backgrounds/fate and all. Just have to wait and see, I guess!

Basma said...

TEAM TUCKER!
TUCKER ALLLLLLLL THE WAYYYY!
I love him.
So much.

Thanks for the giveaway!

The Teen Reader
:)

Christine said...

I haven't read the series yet, so I don't know which team I'm on (though I've heard that Tucker is better from many people). But I just bought a copy of Unearthly so I'm going to get started right away! :)

KMichelleC87 said...

i havent read this series yet but it sounds great

kmichellec87(at)yahoo(dot)com

Sara @ Forever 17 Books said...

I am the exact same way on the love triangle front as you two! I love both boys so much, but Tucker is slightly in the lead. The Aussie covers are just gorgeous! And I like that her hair matches what Clara's should look like.

I have been counting down until I can go get a copy and so cannot wait! :)

lyssje said...

Team tucker

Joli @ Actin' Up with Books said...

Oh, I am Team Tucker.

Unknown said...

Haven't read the series yet but it sounds really exciting! Thank u for the giveaway:)

Ashfa said...

Team Tucker for now. Only read the first book in the series.

nurmawati djuhawan said...

i am team TUCKER :)

Filia Oktarina said...

I haven't read the series yet, so I don't know which team I'm choose.

Dovile said...

neither, I haven't read the series yet

Jaime Lester said...

Both, honestly. They are both amazing. But I think Christian should be the winner in this round!

Unknown said...

Team TUCKER all the way!

Unknown said...

TUCKER!
Wow the Aussie covers are gorgeous!

xXJackoXxT said...

There both great guys but if I have to pick I'm Team Christian
Thanks for the giveaway : )

_Sandra_ said...

Team Tucker all the way!!!!! ;)
Thanks for a giveaway!

Lea Krnjeta said...

Definetly team Tucker from the beggining til the end. I cant Wait to see how it ends.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Team Christian :)

elin said...

Team Tucker

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